It is well known in automotive vehicle bodies to provide a roof opening having a removable closure panel. One such well known removable roof structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,556,062 issued to Gordon M. Buehrig, June 5, 1951. The vehicle body includes a central spine or backbone which extends from the fixed rearward roof portion to the windshield header to stiffen the vehicle roof structure and define separate roof openings over the driver and over the front seat passenger. The inboard portion of each roof closure panel is retained in the roof opening by mating male/female connectors provided respectively on the central spine of the roof and on the removable closure panel. The outboard portion of the removable closure panel is attached to the vehicle body roof by a pair of sliding bolts engageable with keepers mounted respectively on the rearward roof portion and on the windshield header.
It is also known to provide a central operating handle for simultaneously operating sliding latch bolts at the forward and rearward ends of the closure panel. One such patent is U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,618 issued to Charles H. Lee et al, March 18, 1980.